1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related generally to automated vehicle parking systems and methods, and more particularly to automated parking systems and methods that can perform multiple storage and retrieval operations simultaneously without the use of complex mechanical devices
2. Description of the Related Art
Automated parking garage systems have been employed since the late 1950's utilizing crane systems, conveyors, hydraulics and pneumatics to transport and store vehicles within a parking structure. Recently, more advanced garage systems have been developed which include computer-controlled, specialized equipment for carrying vehicles to assigned parking spaces in a way similar to the way that computerized assembly lines or warehouses store and retrieve miscellaneous goods. In such assembly line and warehouse systems, a computer assigns a location for each item as it is received from its manufacturer, and robotic equipment carries each item to its assigned location. The same equipment is dispatched to the location when the item requires retrieval. Often, the items stored in a warehouse are placed on pallets to facilitate transportation and storage of the items. The use of pallets as supporting elements for the transport and storing of vehicles is also typical of more advanced automated parking garage systems.
Automated parking garage systems typically utilize one of two methods to store and retrieve vehicles. One method employs pallets and assigns a separate pallet to each vehicle storage bay. In such systems, when a vehicle is to be parked or stored in a storage bay, the pallet associated with the storage bay is transported from the storage bay to the garage entrance where the vehicle is located. The vehicle is loaded onto the pallet and the pallet carrying the vehicle is transported to the storage bay where both the pallet and vehicle are stored until retrieved.
When a stored vehicle is to be retrieved, the pallet carrying the vehicle is transported from the storage bay to a garage exit. The vehicle is then unloaded from the pallet, and the pallet is transported back to the storage bay until it is needed again to store a vehicle.
This first method has significant shortcomings. A first shortcoming is the inefficient use of time when storing or retrieving a vehicle. Using the first prior art method, a customer parking a vehicle is required to idly wait while a pallet is delivered to the garage entrance from an assigned storage bay. Although garages may provide a limited pallet buffer (e.g., five pallets), it is not enough to handle the queues that may occur during periods of high volume business, such as in the morning and afternoon.
A second shortcoming is that the first prior art method of handling empty pallets impedes the throughput of the garage and fails to provide an endless, continuing and timely stream of pallets.
A further shortcoming of this first method is that handling empty pallets impedes the primary purpose of an automated parking garage, that is, the storing and retrieving of vehicles. Specifically, the same equipment that is used to store and retrieve vehicles is utilized to handle empty pallets thereby promoting inefficient utilization of that equipment.
Yet another significant shortcoming of the first method is that it can only handle one vehicle and one procedure at a time. Thus, systems employing the first prior art method cannot park an incoming vehicle at the same time they are retrieving an empty pallet, and vice versa. As a result, an unacceptably long queue often forms at the entrance of such a garage during periods of high volume business.
In a second method, a single carrier module is used to service all storage bays without the use of pallets. In such systems, the module is stored at an idle position in an aisle of the garage when it is not in use. When a vehicle is to be parked or stored in a storage bay, the vehicle is loaded from an entry/exit station onto the module. The module carrying the vehicle is transported to the storage bay where the vehicle is unloaded. The empty module is transported back to the idle position while the vehicle remains stored until it is retrieved. Typically, the vehicle is loaded/unloaded to/from the module using either the vehicle's own drive system or a crane that traverses the aisles and reaches from the foundation to the roof.
When a stored vehicle is to be retrieved, the module is transported from the garage entrance to the storage bay in which the vehicle is stored. The vehicle is loaded onto the module and the module carrying the vehicle is transported to the garage exit. The vehicle is then unloaded from the module, and the empty module is transported to the garage idle position where it remains until it is needed to store or retrieve a vehicle.
Although this second method eliminates the need to handle empty pallets, it has several shortcomings. Specifically, it requires excessive handling of the vehicle such as grabbing the tires in one way or another. The second prior art method also makes inefficient use of time when storing and retrieving a vehicle. Further, using the second prior art method puts vehicles at risk for being soiled during transportation (such as by oil or hydraulic fluid from the crane).
Another characteristic of systems in the market is that vertical and horizontal travel of the travelling vehicle lifter do not occur simultaneously. The operations are performed separately, which significantly slows the process of storing or retrieving a vehicle. This is undesirable for busy installations, such as at an airport or train station, though acceptable for garaging the cars of customers in a small block of apartments.
Existing automated parking garages and associated technologies pursue the goal of reducing the average amount of space required to park a car. The most rudimentary form of automated parking involves replacing ramps with an elevator or lift system. More sophisticated systems employ materials handling technologies to maneuver vehicles on systems of vertical lifts and horizontal tracks. Over the years, a variety of such systems have been described. The major distinctions are that the existing systems employ pallets or direct carrier mechanisms or such systems are exclusively vertical, or combine horizontal and vertical movement mechanisms.
Several systems employ pallets to support vehicles during the handling process. In these pallet-based systems, the customer arrives at the parking garage and drives his or her car onto a pallet assigned to it for the duration of its storage. A carrier then arrives from a location within the garage and lifts the pallet. The carrier then moves the pallet to a parking space on the same floor or to a lift that carries the pallet to a different floor. If the pallet is moved to a different floor, a different carrier meets the pallet at the lift and moves the pallet to its assigned storage location. The floor plan of such garages is organized by a perpendicular arrangement of longitudinal circulation tracks and transverse tracks that provide access for the carrier to store and retrieve the pallets. Typically, a carrier transports a pallet to the intersection adjacent to the designated storage location, and a mechanism transfers the pallet off of the carrier into the storage position on the transverse track.
The depth of storage of the pallets along the transverse axis is generally limited to the space adjacent to the circulation track, plus one or two additional tandem spaces. The space is limited due to the difficulty of shuffling pallets to positions adjacent to the circulation track which are accessible to the carriers. This system is also disadvantageous, because the entire parking structure must be built and configured to allow the carriers to move thereabout to carry the pallets to and from their storage locations. In addition, since the system depends on the carrier(s) to store and retrieve the vehicles, the system may take a substantial amount of time to retrieve or store a vehicle during peak parking/retrieval times.
In other parking systems, such as direct handling systems, the customer drives his or her vehicle onto a cradle that supports the vehicle's tires. A comb-like handling device then lifts the vehicle off the cradle and carries it to its storage location, where the vehicle is placed on another storage cradle. Where direct handing is used in horizontal configurations, the carrier mechanism runs along a longitudinal track and deposits vehicles on cradles positioned adjacent to the track. Several direct-handling systems are known that use an elevator-like mechanism and a turntable to access storage spaces adjacent to an elevator shaft. In some prior art garages, an elevator or crane mechanism travels along the longitudinal axis of a multistory space, storing and retrieving vehicles or pallets onto racks adjacent to the vertical hoist way.
Accordingly, there is a need for an automated parking system 10 that can perform multiple storage and retrieval operations simultaneously without the use of complex mechanical devices. There is a further need for a system that is adaptable to any layout or configuration and can store vehicles in either a perpendicular orientation or a parallel orientation, and can be designed to park vehicles in tandem and other configurations or depths. There is a further need for an automated parking system 10 that does not require an additional building to house the equipment.